Dernbach shines after Petersen ton

They may have come to see a South African opening batsman make his debut, but there would have been little pleasure for Surrey supporters in the identity of the century scorer on the opening day of the season at the Kia Oval.

Instead of watching Graeme Smith bat, it was his compatriot and opening partner Alviro Petersen who dominated the first day of this game. Petersen, Somerset's overseas player, compiled an untroubled century in his first innings for his new club that took his side to the brink of four batting bonus points and earned them a strong foundation. Had he donned slippers and a onesie, he could have hardly looked more comfortable.

Petersen's excellence threatened to expose the high-risk selection of the Surrey side for much of the day. Chris Tremlett, fit and available after months of rehabilitation, Jon Lewis, Matt Dunn, George Edwards and Tim Linley were all overlooked as Surrey opted for an attack that included just two specialist seamers: Jade Dernbach and Stuart Meaker. With Meaker some way below his best, Surrey were unhealthily reliant on Dernbach.

Dernbach shouldered the burden impressively, though. Maintaining a good line and length, he also generated movement in both directions and kept his side in a match that, for much of the afternoon, seemed to be slipping away from them. On a slow pitch offering him little, his spell with the second new ball was exceptional - he claimed wickets with the first two deliveries; an outswinger following an inswinger that would have pleased James Anderson - but it was his consistency and the absence of 'release' deliveries that was most impressive. Just as Somerset relied upon Petersen, so Surrey relied upon Dernbach.

Perhaps Smith's influence was relevant. In the past, Dernbach has demonstrated an ability to bowl several fine deliveries - though the inswinger is a new weapon - but has lacked the consistency to capitalise upon them. Here, with Smith urging him on, he sustained the pressure throughout the day and produced a performance of both skill and maturity. While the former word has been associated with him often, the latter is a newer attribute.

It has been a difficult few months for Dernbach. Quite apart from losing his place in the England ODI side, he lost his good friend Tom Maynard and then faced some uncomfortable questions at the inquest into his death. But while Rory Hamilton-Brown felt the need to leave the club to reboot his career, Dernbach has remained with Surrey and is now determined to show he can play a role for England with the red ball as well as the white.

"I never thought about leaving the club," Dernbach said. "Last year was difficult, but the people here have looked after me. There is no reason for me to leave the club. I want to be here until the end of my career. I'm a Surrey player through and through.

"Today was tough, but we showed good patience and discipline. It is really exciting for us to have Graeme Smith here and he is telling us to stay in games for longer. I hope my name is there or thereabouts [in relation to England selection] and it's important to keep nudging the selectors."

Dernbach's performance masked the oddly unbalanced Surrey side. With no Jason Roy - he did not even make it into the 13 man squad - Surrey instead included three wicketkeepers (Steven Davies, Rory Burns and Gary Wilson), two 37-year-old middle-order batsmen (Zander de Bruyn and Vikram Solanki) and two spinners with a combined age of 73 (38-year-old Gary Keedy and 35-year-old Gareth Batty). While the decision to inject some maturity into the dressing room was understandable, it is hard to avoid the suspicion that the pendulum might have swung a little far in the other direction.

Batty also enjoyed a decent day. Apart from the vital wicket of Marcus Trescothick, beaten by a quicker delivery that turned and defeated an angled bat, he also made the key breakthrough. Petersen and Craig Kieswetter had added 143 and seemed to have put Somerset on course for a match-defining first innings total when Batty, spotting Kieswetter skipping down the wicket, fired the ball in fuller and saw Davies complete a neat stumping. It meant new batsmen were exposed to the new ball, due only six overs later, and allowed Surrey to strike twice more in quick succession. Had Alfonso Thomas, edging to the slips, been held on just 3, Surrey might have been batting before the day was out.

Petersen, who scored a double-century for Glamorgan here in 2011, was the one man to make batting appear straightforward. Feasting off some uncharacteristically loose bowling from Meaker, who conceded nearly five an over, Petersen's only moment of concern came on 52 when he attempted to cut a delivery from Dernbach only to see the inside edge slip past his leg stump and away to the boundary. The rest of the time he played the spinners comfortably - several times he skipped down the pitch to drive them over the top while his cutting and pulling allowed little margin for error - and milked de Bruyn, over-promoted in the role of first change seamer, without difficulty.

The only regret from a Somerset perspective is that he could not have produced something similar in the first game of the season. Petersen's arrival in the UK was delayed after Cricket South Africa insisted he undergo a series of fitness tests so he was unavailable for Somerset's first game of the season, when a batting collapse saw them slide to defeat against Durham.

Few of Petersen's colleagues impressed here, either. Nick Compton, who had already scored 481 first-class runs by this stage last season, played-on as he tried to dig out a yorker, James Hildreth tried to cut one too close to him and also played-on, Jos Buttler left one that swung back sharply and Peter Trego edged a delivery that left him.

While Kieswetter showed admirable resilience - he scored only one run from his first 31 deliveries - the manner of his dismissal partially squandered his hard work and allowed Surrey to fight their way back into a game that had been sliding out of their grasp. By the time Petersen was lbw playing across the line with about 20 minutes of the day to go, honours were just about even.

"Playing county cricket is as close as you can get to playing Test cricket at domestic level," Petersen said afterwards. "So I'm very happy with the way I batted. I think we're slightly ahead as the pitch is quite dry and it may turn and bounce unevenly towards the end.

"Dernbach bowled very well. The pitch is slow so he couldn't really use his bouncer, but he still bowled with good pace, he moved it both ways and he has a beautiful slower ball. He tried really hard, too."

Bearing in mind the tide of South African players electing to make a living as Kolpak registrations in county cricket, it is a route that may soon become attractive to Petersen. ESPNcricinfo understands that Somerset also approached Ashwell Prince ahead of this season , but he preferred to remain with Lancashire partially as the prospect of fielding at Taunton was so unattractive; an oddly negative way for a batsman to view a decent pitch.

"I wouldn't rule it out," Petersen responded when asked about registering as a Kolpak. "The key thing is finding the right county. But I'm contracted to Cricket South Africa now and I'm not thinking about that at the moment."

Flags at the ground - and around the first-class counties - were flown at half-mast throughout the day at the suggestion of the ECB as a mark of respect for Lady Thatcher, whose funeral took place during the day at St Paul's.

@CS - Yeah - not so happy with the weather yesterday. If Surrey avoid the follow on it may be tough to force a result.
If we bowl Surrey out for around 250 I'd suggest to open with AP and move everyone from Jos up a place and Nick down the order and go for some quickfire runs.
I know ECB won't be happy with that but I wasn't happy Compton didn't play in the 1st game when we needed him more

CricketingStargazer
on April 18, 2013, 18:02 GMT

@JG2704 Happier about the Somerset score now? Surrey have a battle to avoid the follow-on.

dummy4fb
on April 18, 2013, 11:19 GMT

You have to wonder WHY Tremlett was allowed to be left out; don't they have a duty to Team England that, when he's fit, he plays as surely, with England's pace attack not particularly firing, he's needed on the park as often as possible. Let's not get to The Ashes and STILL be unsure of how he's faring in the shake-up...... Still, typical Surrey.

SDHM
on April 18, 2013, 9:07 GMT

As to the match situation, it's clear that the lower middle order is struggling - 260-4 has become 344-8, not good enough really, although Dernbach bowled beautifully with the 2nd new ball in particular. I've been one of his biggest critics in ODI/T20s, but he does have all the weapons to become an excellent strike bowler in Tests. That's not particularly what England need at the moment, but if he continues this form it'll be interesting to see what England do.

@JG - agree, we seem to be picking the wrong Overton. Craig is the more potent bowler from what I've seen. Jamie is a bit too similar to those we already have.

SDHM
on April 18, 2013, 9:03 GMT

@CricketingStargazer - personally I think Kieswetter is the 2nd best keeper-bat in the country behind Prior & if Prior gets an injury or needs resting it'll be him that comes in. Buttler, as he is showing (although watching the highlights he got a corker of an inswinger today), is still very much a limited overs specialist, Davies has fallen out of form & Bairstow's keeping is not up to scratch. Kiesy isn't the best with the gloves, but he is also nowhere near as horrific as some people seem to want to believe - he's certainly better than Prior was when he first took them for England, and people who are judging him only on his limited overs performances for England will be surprised watching him in the longer form - technically solid, able to bat long periods and capable of big scores. Think he could be a fine Test player personally.

JG2704
on April 18, 2013, 8:22 GMT

@CS - AP did really well but I'm not sure you can say the batting as a whole did. No other 50s and guys like Jos and Hilds and even Tres have made starts a couple of times and not gone on.
Time will tell what sort of a score is good on this pitch

CricketingStargazer
on April 18, 2013, 7:16 GMT

@WilliamFranklin The thunderbats (Compton and Buttler) both failed, as did Trego. Buttler really needs the run haul to justify his enormous reputation. But Kiestwetter and Hildreth did a job giving Petersen the support that he needed. You rarely see a score of 350 built around 6 or 7 solid contributions: it is almost always one big score plus support.

RealStickofRhubarb
on April 18, 2013, 6:38 GMT

As much as Surrey appeared reliant in Dernbach, Somerset were on Petersen. It's a good pitch (Somerset chose to bat) but not many runs have been scored by the other batsmen.

CricketingStargazer
on April 17, 2013, 21:20 GMT

@JG2704 I've only seen Jade Dernbach in the flesh once when Surrey had Gloucs 58-5 chasing 170-ish and still lost by 4 wickets. I was not particularly impressed by the Surrey pace attack - admitedly from a cover/mid-wicket position in the OCS Stand. I agree totally that he tries too much variation when he just needs to maintain a good line and length. Maybe he will turn out to be one of those bowlers who will look world-class in Tests, but out of his depth in ODIs/T20.

You know that I have some concerns about Somerset - and not just the attack. The batting today though has really dome well and I see that Craig Keiswetter seems to be in decent knick. I really do think that he could do a good job in Tests, if he can just get a bit more consistency: he is not Matt Prior, but at the start of his England career Matt Prior was very criticised too.

JG2704
on April 17, 2013, 20:54 GMT

@CricketingStargazer on (April 17, 2013, 20:05 GMT) I'm happy with the runs/rr - just wish we were 3 or 4 wickets lighter. I followed the commentary on some of the 1st session and it seemed like Jade kept things very tight.
Always thought he has ability but tries to overdo his variations etc

JG2704
on April 19, 2013, 8:32 GMT

@CS - Yeah - not so happy with the weather yesterday. If Surrey avoid the follow on it may be tough to force a result.
If we bowl Surrey out for around 250 I'd suggest to open with AP and move everyone from Jos up a place and Nick down the order and go for some quickfire runs.
I know ECB won't be happy with that but I wasn't happy Compton didn't play in the 1st game when we needed him more

CricketingStargazer
on April 18, 2013, 18:02 GMT

@JG2704 Happier about the Somerset score now? Surrey have a battle to avoid the follow-on.

dummy4fb
on April 18, 2013, 11:19 GMT

You have to wonder WHY Tremlett was allowed to be left out; don't they have a duty to Team England that, when he's fit, he plays as surely, with England's pace attack not particularly firing, he's needed on the park as often as possible. Let's not get to The Ashes and STILL be unsure of how he's faring in the shake-up...... Still, typical Surrey.

SDHM
on April 18, 2013, 9:07 GMT

As to the match situation, it's clear that the lower middle order is struggling - 260-4 has become 344-8, not good enough really, although Dernbach bowled beautifully with the 2nd new ball in particular. I've been one of his biggest critics in ODI/T20s, but he does have all the weapons to become an excellent strike bowler in Tests. That's not particularly what England need at the moment, but if he continues this form it'll be interesting to see what England do.

@JG - agree, we seem to be picking the wrong Overton. Craig is the more potent bowler from what I've seen. Jamie is a bit too similar to those we already have.

SDHM
on April 18, 2013, 9:03 GMT

@CricketingStargazer - personally I think Kieswetter is the 2nd best keeper-bat in the country behind Prior & if Prior gets an injury or needs resting it'll be him that comes in. Buttler, as he is showing (although watching the highlights he got a corker of an inswinger today), is still very much a limited overs specialist, Davies has fallen out of form & Bairstow's keeping is not up to scratch. Kiesy isn't the best with the gloves, but he is also nowhere near as horrific as some people seem to want to believe - he's certainly better than Prior was when he first took them for England, and people who are judging him only on his limited overs performances for England will be surprised watching him in the longer form - technically solid, able to bat long periods and capable of big scores. Think he could be a fine Test player personally.

JG2704
on April 18, 2013, 8:22 GMT

@CS - AP did really well but I'm not sure you can say the batting as a whole did. No other 50s and guys like Jos and Hilds and even Tres have made starts a couple of times and not gone on.
Time will tell what sort of a score is good on this pitch

CricketingStargazer
on April 18, 2013, 7:16 GMT

@WilliamFranklin The thunderbats (Compton and Buttler) both failed, as did Trego. Buttler really needs the run haul to justify his enormous reputation. But Kiestwetter and Hildreth did a job giving Petersen the support that he needed. You rarely see a score of 350 built around 6 or 7 solid contributions: it is almost always one big score plus support.

RealStickofRhubarb
on April 18, 2013, 6:38 GMT

As much as Surrey appeared reliant in Dernbach, Somerset were on Petersen. It's a good pitch (Somerset chose to bat) but not many runs have been scored by the other batsmen.

CricketingStargazer
on April 17, 2013, 21:20 GMT

@JG2704 I've only seen Jade Dernbach in the flesh once when Surrey had Gloucs 58-5 chasing 170-ish and still lost by 4 wickets. I was not particularly impressed by the Surrey pace attack - admitedly from a cover/mid-wicket position in the OCS Stand. I agree totally that he tries too much variation when he just needs to maintain a good line and length. Maybe he will turn out to be one of those bowlers who will look world-class in Tests, but out of his depth in ODIs/T20.

You know that I have some concerns about Somerset - and not just the attack. The batting today though has really dome well and I see that Craig Keiswetter seems to be in decent knick. I really do think that he could do a good job in Tests, if he can just get a bit more consistency: he is not Matt Prior, but at the start of his England career Matt Prior was very criticised too.

JG2704
on April 17, 2013, 20:54 GMT

@CricketingStargazer on (April 17, 2013, 20:05 GMT) I'm happy with the runs/rr - just wish we were 3 or 4 wickets lighter. I followed the commentary on some of the 1st session and it seemed like Jade kept things very tight.
Always thought he has ability but tries to overdo his variations etc

CricketingStargazer
on April 17, 2013, 20:05 GMT

@JG Offer most sides almost 350 in a day on an early-season pitch and they would grab it with both hands. As the report points out, it's a curious Surrey side and it will be interesting to see how things end up: there may be some tired limbs come the fourth day. It's also interesting to see the suggestion that Jade Dernbach may be the seamer that England were looking for n Tests last winter: some fans may take a little convincing of that! However, as Dernbach and Meaker are two of the better England-qualified seamers, it is in everyone's interest to see them perform and add some pressure for places.

Can Somerset bowl well on this surface and put Surrey under some pressure? We'll find out tomorrow. Mr Smith though may want to make a point to Mr Petersen when he bats! And we know how competitive Graeme Smith is...

trevorleesafro
on April 17, 2013, 19:39 GMT

The easiest big hundred I've seen in years. Surrey were clueless in the afternoon session, so many free runs. Dernbach was exceptional and rescued the day. Smith was very quiet, but I bet he can't wait to bat on that pitch.

JG2704
on April 17, 2013, 19:31 GMT

Not sure (as a Somerset fan) what to make of day 1. The 1 good thing with a fair RR is that we've moved the game forward a bit , but it would have been nice in the lower mid order showed a bit more.
I was dubious of the AP signing and he's obviously proving he's not up to standard.
On a serious note , I wonder why we're playing Jamie rather than Craig Overton in this game?Is Craig injured?
Surely if we're picking Jamie as an all rounder then he should at least be coming in higher than the Fonz.If he's there more for his batting he should surely be batting higher and if he's there for his bowling he should be bowling more overs than in last game.
If we needed someone to give us batting depth would we not have been better off having Suppiah in there and if we wanted to add to our bowling threat would we not be better off with brother , Hussain, Dibble or even Gregory?

No featured comments at the moment.

JG2704
on April 17, 2013, 19:31 GMT

Not sure (as a Somerset fan) what to make of day 1. The 1 good thing with a fair RR is that we've moved the game forward a bit , but it would have been nice in the lower mid order showed a bit more.
I was dubious of the AP signing and he's obviously proving he's not up to standard.
On a serious note , I wonder why we're playing Jamie rather than Craig Overton in this game?Is Craig injured?
Surely if we're picking Jamie as an all rounder then he should at least be coming in higher than the Fonz.If he's there more for his batting he should surely be batting higher and if he's there for his bowling he should be bowling more overs than in last game.
If we needed someone to give us batting depth would we not have been better off having Suppiah in there and if we wanted to add to our bowling threat would we not be better off with brother , Hussain, Dibble or even Gregory?

trevorleesafro
on April 17, 2013, 19:39 GMT

The easiest big hundred I've seen in years. Surrey were clueless in the afternoon session, so many free runs. Dernbach was exceptional and rescued the day. Smith was very quiet, but I bet he can't wait to bat on that pitch.

CricketingStargazer
on April 17, 2013, 20:05 GMT

@JG Offer most sides almost 350 in a day on an early-season pitch and they would grab it with both hands. As the report points out, it's a curious Surrey side and it will be interesting to see how things end up: there may be some tired limbs come the fourth day. It's also interesting to see the suggestion that Jade Dernbach may be the seamer that England were looking for n Tests last winter: some fans may take a little convincing of that! However, as Dernbach and Meaker are two of the better England-qualified seamers, it is in everyone's interest to see them perform and add some pressure for places.

Can Somerset bowl well on this surface and put Surrey under some pressure? We'll find out tomorrow. Mr Smith though may want to make a point to Mr Petersen when he bats! And we know how competitive Graeme Smith is...

JG2704
on April 17, 2013, 20:54 GMT

@CricketingStargazer on (April 17, 2013, 20:05 GMT) I'm happy with the runs/rr - just wish we were 3 or 4 wickets lighter. I followed the commentary on some of the 1st session and it seemed like Jade kept things very tight.
Always thought he has ability but tries to overdo his variations etc

CricketingStargazer
on April 17, 2013, 21:20 GMT

@JG2704 I've only seen Jade Dernbach in the flesh once when Surrey had Gloucs 58-5 chasing 170-ish and still lost by 4 wickets. I was not particularly impressed by the Surrey pace attack - admitedly from a cover/mid-wicket position in the OCS Stand. I agree totally that he tries too much variation when he just needs to maintain a good line and length. Maybe he will turn out to be one of those bowlers who will look world-class in Tests, but out of his depth in ODIs/T20.

You know that I have some concerns about Somerset - and not just the attack. The batting today though has really dome well and I see that Craig Keiswetter seems to be in decent knick. I really do think that he could do a good job in Tests, if he can just get a bit more consistency: he is not Matt Prior, but at the start of his England career Matt Prior was very criticised too.

RealStickofRhubarb
on April 18, 2013, 6:38 GMT

As much as Surrey appeared reliant in Dernbach, Somerset were on Petersen. It's a good pitch (Somerset chose to bat) but not many runs have been scored by the other batsmen.

CricketingStargazer
on April 18, 2013, 7:16 GMT

@WilliamFranklin The thunderbats (Compton and Buttler) both failed, as did Trego. Buttler really needs the run haul to justify his enormous reputation. But Kiestwetter and Hildreth did a job giving Petersen the support that he needed. You rarely see a score of 350 built around 6 or 7 solid contributions: it is almost always one big score plus support.

JG2704
on April 18, 2013, 8:22 GMT

@CS - AP did really well but I'm not sure you can say the batting as a whole did. No other 50s and guys like Jos and Hilds and even Tres have made starts a couple of times and not gone on.
Time will tell what sort of a score is good on this pitch

SDHM
on April 18, 2013, 9:03 GMT

@CricketingStargazer - personally I think Kieswetter is the 2nd best keeper-bat in the country behind Prior & if Prior gets an injury or needs resting it'll be him that comes in. Buttler, as he is showing (although watching the highlights he got a corker of an inswinger today), is still very much a limited overs specialist, Davies has fallen out of form & Bairstow's keeping is not up to scratch. Kiesy isn't the best with the gloves, but he is also nowhere near as horrific as some people seem to want to believe - he's certainly better than Prior was when he first took them for England, and people who are judging him only on his limited overs performances for England will be surprised watching him in the longer form - technically solid, able to bat long periods and capable of big scores. Think he could be a fine Test player personally.

SDHM
on April 18, 2013, 9:07 GMT

As to the match situation, it's clear that the lower middle order is struggling - 260-4 has become 344-8, not good enough really, although Dernbach bowled beautifully with the 2nd new ball in particular. I've been one of his biggest critics in ODI/T20s, but he does have all the weapons to become an excellent strike bowler in Tests. That's not particularly what England need at the moment, but if he continues this form it'll be interesting to see what England do.

@JG - agree, we seem to be picking the wrong Overton. Craig is the more potent bowler from what I've seen. Jamie is a bit too similar to those we already have.